Joella Moore Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Joella Wattenbarger Moore passed away quietly among loved ones in Abilene, Texas on December 10, 2016. She was 93. A memorial service and celebration of her life will be held at First United Methodist Church, Rusk, Texas on Sunday, December 18, 2016 at 2pm. Joella Wattenbarger was born August 26, 1923, in Caddo Mills, Texas, the eighth of nine children born to Clifford and Emma Wattenbarger. She married Melvin Moore in 1943, and was preceded in death by Melvin, her parents, and her siblings. Joella is survived by her two daughters and sons-in law, Sue and Rudy Penn of Abilene and Brenda and David Slaton of Rusk, her four grandchildren Amy Penn of Austin, Andrew Penn of Kansas City, Brent Slaton of Allen, and Brian Slaton of Liberty Hill, and her five great-grandchildren, Madeleine and Owen Penn, Ryder Slaton, and Makenzy and Kendal Slaton. After growing up in a farming family in Caddo Mills, Joella married Melvin, who became a pilot in the United States Air Force. Her daughters will always remember Joella providing a home filled with love and laughter, be it on air force bases in Washington, D.C., abroad in Germany and France, or on their farm in Rusk following Melvin’s retirement. To her grandchildren she will be remembered as the grandmother who loved to have fun, taught each of them and their friends addition by playing dominoes, and would not pass up an opportunity play dress-up along with them or sneak off for a kids-only trip to buy ice cream. Joella’s love for children never faded, and she cherished the opportunity to care for countless others as she kept the church nursery at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church for more than 25 years. Joella’s sweet and joyful spirit gave her a special place in the hearts of countless families, including the children who now have children of their own. Joella could always be counted on to hold and rock a crying toddler while singing them her favorite hymn, “In the Garden.” Joella will be missed by all those who have been blessed to know her, but her loved ones celebrate her life and the joy she always carried with her and shared with everyone she met. Her family would like to express their deepest gratitude to Dr. Sandra Hazelip and the nurses and staff at Windcrest Healthcare Center and Hospice of the Big Country in Abilene, who tirelessly and lovingly cared for her.

Joella Moore

August 26, 1923 - December 10, 2016